🚨 What’s Changed in 2025?

⚠️ New important updates for 2025 applicants:

• FBI (or home country) criminal records must be issued within 3 months of the actual review date, not just submission.
  
• Many are now being asked for a Certificate of Existence or Legal Representation of your employer (like Articles of Incorporation or Good Standing).
  
• A new common follow-up is a personal explanatory letter detailing your remote work, background, and why you’re applying.
  
• No more CamScanner! They want real scans from a machine. Go to a local papelería to scan documents.
  
• Your photo should be taken at a professional visa photo shop (FotoJapon, Magifoto) — many DIY phone pics are being rejected on follow-up.

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What is the Digital Nomad Visa for Colombia?

The Digital Nomad Visa allows remote workers or online entrepreneurs to live in Colombia for up to two years. This visa is ideal for digital professionals who wish to stay longer than the standard tourist visa permits, which is 6 months per calendar year — meaning it resets every January, not from your first date of entry. It also means you have to leave before the year ends and re-enter in January for it to reset. You cannot stay in the country continuously for more than 180 days.

Most countries get a tourist permit for 3 months, extendable to 3 more. Some citizens, like Canadians, pay to enter as tourists. The extension is free or low-cost (around 110,000 COP / ~$25 USD) depending on your nationality.

👉 Want to extend your tourist permit?
Click here to read how to do that.

For those who enjoy living in beautiful Colombia and want to stay longer, the Digital Nomad Visa is the way to go. It also gives peace of mind for exiting and re-entering on trips.

Let’s see if you can apply for the Colombian Digital Nomad Visa and follow the steps below:

⚡️ QUICK TIPS BEFORE WE GET STARTED

✅ Start early:
Give yourself at least two months before your tourist permit expires to start this process. It averages 30 days, but new document requests can add time.

✅ Get ALL your documents upfront:
Including the Criminal Background Check — every time they ask for more, you get only 10 days to respond, or risk starting over (and paying fees again).

✅ No more CamScanner:
Use a real scanner at a papelería for passport pages & documents.

✅ File sizes & labels:

• PDFs under 1 MB each
• Name files in Spanish (ex: Pasaporte.pdf)

✅ Employment letters:
When writing your Certificate of Employment, make sure to specify your income, start date of employment, and most importantly stating that you work for that company REMOTELY.

✅ Get a professional photo:
Not your phone. Go to a visa photo shop — many are being asked to resubmit this later.

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Step 1: Verify Your Eligibility ✅

Make sure you meet these:

• 🧑‍💻 Remote employment: You work remotely for a company based outside Colombia.
• 👩‍💼 Or self-employed: Your business is registered abroad.
• 💰 Minimum income: At least $900 USD/month (higher = better approval odds).
• ❤️ Health insurance: Valid for your full intended stay.

If yes, proceed!

🤑 Visa Application Fees and Costs

• 📝 Application fee: 216,000 COP (~$54 USD)
• ✅ Visa issuance fee: 708,000 COP (~$177 USD) after approval
• 🪪 Cédula (Foreigner ID): 250,000 COP (~$63 USD)

💡 Total is around $294 USD, paid in stages.

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Step 2: Gather the Required Documents

Here’s your updated checklist for 2025:

1️⃣ Passport

• At least 6 months validity and blank pages.
• Attach your Criminal Background Check to this file.

2️⃣ Passport Page with Entry Stamp

• A clear scanner-made PDF, not a phone photo.

3️⃣ Proof of Income

• Bank statements or pay stubs (last 3 months minimum, we suggest 6 months).
• 💡 PRO TIP: Circle income lines for clarity.

4️⃣ Health Insurance

• Needs to cover your time in Colombia.
• Try Genki (month-to-month) or Sura for local plans (DM us for a trusted agent).

5️⃣ Certificate of Employment or Business

• 🧑🏽‍💻 Employed: A letter from your company with your role, stating you work remotely, start date, and income.
• 👩🏽‍💼 Self-employed: Business registration and evidence of activity.

💥 New in 2025:
They now often want a Certificate of Existence or Legal Representation, like:

• Articles of Incorporation
• Certificate of Good Standing

Shows your employer (or your own company) is legally registered abroad.

6️⃣ Recent Passport-Size Photo

• Get it done at a visa photo shop, not your phone.
• Digital version provided by FotoJapon/Magifoto works perfectly.

7️⃣ Criminal Background Check

✅ Unofficial but essential:

Now, this isn’t an official requirement but in order to avoid wasting time, money and your sanity, get this sorted before even applying.

Check with your country on the time to process these things as they vary. Some countries take 2 weeks, some others take 6 weeks.

And we’re not done. We cannot submit the document as is. The document needs to be apostilled in your country and then later translated by an official Colombian translation company.

STEP 1: Acquire document from your country

STEP 2: Get it locally apostilled

STEP 3: Get it translated by a certified / accredited Colombian translation company

STEP 4: Attach this document to your passport bio page

⚠️ Must be issued within 3 months of the review date (not just your application submission).

🖨️ Do you need to have the original, physical copy of it? While in our experience we did not have to submit it, it would be best to have it anyway in case they ask for it to be mailed. Just in case!

8️⃣ Additional Explanatory Letter

• Increasingly asked: a letter describing your remote work, professional background, and your purpose for applying.
• Helps preempt annoying follow-ups.

9️⃣ Completed Application Form

• Done on the Migración site (explained below).

🚨 Final checks:

• All PDFs < 1 MB
• Properly scanned, clearly labeled
• Originals on hand in case they ask for mailing

Step 3: Submit Your Application Online 👽

Once you have all the necessary documents, you can begin the online application process:

1. Go to the Migración Colombia website or simply click HERE.

2. Fill out the visa application form and upload all the required documents, ensuring that everything is clear and accurate (see detailed help below for uploading your documents).

3. Pay the visa fee, which is approximately 215.000 COP or ~50 USD. You will be prompted to complete this step through the online portal.

4. Submit the application and wait for confirmation.

Important Note: Processing time typically takes around 30 days, so plan accordingly. Do not risk applying with less than 30 days left on your permit. We highly encourage a two month grace period to avoid stress!

Online, it will ask you to upload 8 documents and every option must have a document. You might wonder what to upload for a section that doesn’t apply to you or what the hell they’re asking for because it’s not very straightforward. We feel your pain. 

Don’t worry. We gotchu.

This is what it would look like:

 Here is a rundown of what you should upload for each section in the order written above:

1. Passport bio page + Criminal background check

2. Passport page of the most recent entry stamp to Colombia

3. Proof of legal stay in the country – depending on your situation but if you are on a tourist permit, submit the online proof that you extended your tourist permit in Colombia.

4. Passport bio page + Criminal background check

5. Proof of employment (if this doesn’t apply to you, upload a blank page with the words “no aplica”, see below) + Certificate of Existence or Legal Representation

6. Proof of business (if this doesn’t apply to you, upload a blank page with the words “no aplica”, see below)

7. Bank statements / Payment stubs

8. Insurance policy

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Step 4: Visa Approval Process 🛩️

• They’ll email you confirming receipt.
• May request more (like your explanatory letter or new scans).
• Processing takes ~30 days.
• Once approved, you get your electronic visa.

✅ Plan wisely:
Apply with at least two months cushion before your tourist permit ends.

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FAQs 👀

How long can I stay?

Up to 2 years, at the discretion of Migración.

Can this lead to residency?

No, as this is a VISITOR visa.

Do I need a lawyer?

Not required, but helpful if you’re busy and have ~$500–$700 to spare. Just note you’ll still handle all personal documents yourself.